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Thursday, July 30, 2015

What are the limits of human vision?

From observations of
distant galaxies light years from us to the perception of invisible colors,
Adam Hedheyzi on BBC explains why your eyes can do incredible things. Take a
look around. What do you see? All these colors, the walls, the windows,
everything seems obvious, as it should be here. The idea that we all see it
because the particles of light - photons - that bounce off of objects and fall
into human vision, it seems incredible.

This bombardment of
photon absorbed, about 126 million light-sensitive cells. Different direction
and energy of the photons are transmitted to our brains in different shapes,
colors, and brightness, filled with images of our multi-colored world.

Human vision is
remarkable, obviously, have a number of limitations. We cannot see radio waves
emanating from our electronic devices, cannot see the bacteria under your nose.
But with advances in physics and biology, we can determine the fundamental
limitations of the natural view. "Everything that you can distinguish between
thresholds, the lowest level, above and below which you cannot see," -
says Michael Landy, a professor of neurology at New York University.

Sticks

We will begin to
consider these visual thresholds in the light of - pardon the pun - that many
associate with the vision first: color.

Why do we see purple,
brown and not dependent on the energy or wavelengths of the photons incident on
the retina at the rear of our eyeballs. There are two types of photoreceptors,
rods and cones. Cones are responsible for color and sticks allow us to see the
shades of gray in low light conditions, such as at night. Opsin, or pigment
molecules in the cells of the retina absorb electromagnetic energy of incident
photons, generating an electrical impulse. This signal goes through the optic
nerve to the brain, where it is born conscious perception of colors and images.

We have three types of
cones and related opsins, each of which is sensitive to photons of a certain
wavelength. These cones are denoted by the letters S, M and L (short, medium
and long wave respectively). Short wave we perceive blue, long - red.
Wavelengths between them, and combinations thereof are converted into full
rainbow. "All the light that we see, in addition to artificially created
by a prism or smart devices like lasers, is a mixture of different wavelengths,
- says Landy."

Of all the possible
photon wavelength cones show our small band of 380 to 720 nanometers - what we
call the visible spectrum. Beyond our range of perception is the infrared and
radio spectrum, the latter wavelength range is from a millimeter to a kilometer
long.

Over our visible
spectrum to higher energies and shorter wavelengths, we find the ultraviolet
spectrum, x-rays, and then on top - a gamma-ray spectrum, the wavelengths of
which reach one trillion meter.

While most of us are
limited to the visible spectrum, people with aphakia (absence of the lens) can
see in the ultraviolet spectrum. Afak is usually created as a result of
surgical removal of cataracts or congenital defects. Typically, the lens blocks
UV light, so without it people can see beyond the visible spectrum, and to
perceive wavelengths up to 300 nm in a bluish tinge.

A study in 2014 showed
that, relatively speaking, we all can see infrared photons. If two infrared
photon accidentally fall into the retinal cells simultaneously, almost their
combined energy, converting them from an invisible wavelength (eg 1000 nm) in
the visible 500-nanometer (cold green for most of the eye).

How many colors can we
see?

A healthy human eye has
three types of cones, each of which can distinguish about 100 different colors,
so most researchers agree that our eyes can generally distinguish about a
million shades. However, color perception - a rather subjective capacity that
varies from person to person, so to determine the exact figures is difficult.

"It is rather
difficult to pass it on figures - says Kimberly Jamieson, Researcher,
University of California at Irvine. - What one person sees, it can only be part
of the colors seen by the other person. "

Eyes

Jamison knows what he's
talking, because it works with "tetrahromatami" - people who have
"superhuman" vision. These rare individuals, mostly women, have a
genetic mutation that gave them additional fourth cones. Roughly speaking,
thanks to a fourth set of cones, tetrahromaty can see 100 million colors.
(People with color blindness, dichromates are only two kinds of cones and can
see about 10 000 colors).

How many photons at
least we need to see?

In order to color
vision worked, cones, usually need a lot more light than their counterparts’
sticks. Therefore, in low light color "goes out", because the fore
monochromatic sticks.

In ideal laboratory
conditions and locations of the retina, where sticks are largely absent, the
cones can be activated by only a handful of photons. Yet stick better job in
terms of the scattered lights. Experiments have shown 40s, one quantum of light
is enough to get our attention. "People can respond to a single photon, -
said Brian Wandell, a professor of psychology and electrical engineering at
Stanford. - There's no point in even greater sensitivity. "

Scope

In 1941, researchers at
Columbia University have set people in a dark room and gave their eyes adjust.
Sticks took several minutes to reach full sensitivity - that's why we have
problems with vision, when suddenly the lights go out.

The researchers then
lit the blue-green light in front of the test persons. At a level exceeding the
statistical coincidence, the participants were able to capture the light, when
the first 54 photons reach their eyes.

After compensation for
loss of photon absorption by other components of the eye, the researchers found
that for five of the photons activate five individual sticks that give
participants a sense of light.

What is the limit of
small and distant that we can see?

This fact may surprise
you: there are no internal restrictions smallest or the most distant thing we
can see. As long as the objects of any size, at any distance transmit photons
cells of the retina, we can see them.

"Anything that
excites the eye, is the amount of light that reaches the eyes - says Landy. -
The total number of photons. You can make the light source is ridiculously
small and remote, but if it emits photons powerful, you see him. "

For example,
conventional wisdom has it that a dark clear night we can see the candle flame
from a distance of 48 kilometers. In practice, of course, our eyes would just
swim in photons, so the stray light rays from a distance just lost in this
mess. "When you increase the intensity of the background, the amount of
light that you need to see something, increased", - said Landy.

Stars

Night sky with a dark
background dotted with stars is a striking example of the range of our vision.
Stars are huge; many of those that we see in the night sky make millions of
kilometers in diameter. But even the nearest stars are at least 24 trillion
kilometers away from us, but because so small for our eyes, that they cannot
tell. And yet we see them as a strong point of emitting light as photons cross
the cosmic distances and fall into our eyes.

All the individual
stars that we see in the night sky, are in our galaxy - the Milky Way. The most
distant object we can see with the naked eye, is beyond our galaxy: a galaxy of
Andromeda, located 2.5 million light-years from us. (Although this is
controversial, some individuals claim that they can see the galaxy of the
Triangle in an extremely dark night sky, and it is three million light years
from us, just have to take their word for it).

Trillion stars in the
Andromeda Galaxy, given its distance, in a vague blur glowing piece of sky. Yet
its dimensions are enormous. From the point of view of the apparent size of
even being quintillion kilometers away, the galaxy is six times wider than the
full Moon. However, our eyes up so few photons that this celestial monster is
almost imperceptible.

How serious can be the
vision?

Why cannot distinguish
individual stars in the Andromeda Galaxy? The limits of our visual resolution,
or visual acuity, impose limitations. Visual acuity - is the ability to
distinguish details such as points or lines, separated from each other so that
they are not merged. Thus, we can assume the limits of the number of
"points", which we can discern.

Acuity

Boundaries acuity establishes
several factors such as the distance between the rods and cones, retinal
packed. Also important is the optics of the eyeball, which, as we have said, it
prevents all possible photons in the light-sensitive cells.

In theory, studies have
shown that the best that we can see, it's about 120 pixels per degree arc, unit
of angular measurement. You can imagine it as a black and white chess board 60
by 60 cells, which fit on the nail arm. "This is a clear pattern that you
can see," - said Landy.

Visual inspection, such
as tables with small letters that guided by the same principle. These limits
sharpness explain why we cannot discern and focus on a single dull biological
cell width of a few micrometers.

But do not write off
the accounts themselves. Million colors, single photons, galactic worlds beyond
kvantilliony kilometers away - not bad for a bubble of jelly in our sockets
connected to the 1.4-pound sponge in our skulls.

Mysterious world

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